Popularność utworów muzycznych i ich coverów na YouTube

Abstract

The aim of the article is to present a reply to a research problem concerning the reasons why a demand for song covers on YouTube measured by the numer of hits is higher than the demand for their original versions. The problem has been exemplified by the music piece ‘I will always love you’. The article contains the description of the functioning of YouTube as a music market, its basic subjects, the model of the market, as well as the market mechanism in which a song and its cover are goods. An attempt at solving the research problem is the musical analysis of the original song and its cover, as well as the specification of basic determinants that cause greater demand for song covers than for their original versions.